Home Is Where The Wrench Is

It must’ve been an old dude who said it — “Artifacts are the starting fluid of memory.”

Eight feet from my gear closet, just across from the work bench, stands a Chinese rollaway tool chest, Craftsman vintage 1990. It replaced my dented-in and rusty red Craftsman box that I’d been toting around since visiting a Sears & Roebuck store back in the day, and outgrew.

Vintage 1980’s Craftsman Tool Box

The big, black beast was a minimalist purchase as my tools started ending up in various cardboard boxes.

I imagine your Chinese “steel box” holds a million memories. I know mine does!  An early photo of my son standing next to our Red ’65 Vette project, which is taped up in its permanently opened lid next to cross-cut saw blades clinging to rare-earth magnets. There is an assortment of bailing wire and zip-ties, nails and screws along with wire cutters, crescent wrenches, utility blades, socket sets, wrenches, Hex (Allen) wrenches, Torx bits, pliers, hammers and one-off speciality tools.

Motorcycle maintenance is a true art form and if you’re like me, working on motorcycles can be as much fun as riding them.  In addition, there are lots and I mean a lot of stickers from the vendors who awarded them during my many event wanderings which cover the paint scratches, along with a dinged-up motorcycle license plate from a distant state. Some days, I wonder whether that ‘ol work chest is mostly a repository for artifacts, but sliding open its ball-bearing drawers reveals row upon gleaming row of repair tools.

1990’s Craftsman Tool Chest

Some of those stickers on the “steel box” are memories. Like the Bananen Bar sticker from Amsterdam which was certainly a unique travel experience.  The tools are memories too. That whittled wooden stick—a fork-seal tool for an unlamented Yamaha YZ—is as likely to be used again in my row of sockets. My level—a nearly unusable, Victorian-age contraption that is nonetheless lovely to look at—sits alongside a Fluke 77 meter from my electronic days.

Although I’m the only guy on earth who knows where everything is in that rollaway, I couldn’t tell you on a bet. At this point it’s a matter of feel, like dead reckoning through a place you’ve been before but don’t entirely recall. My memory is fading just like my left ear hearing, but when I get close to my tool chest, I just rely on my sense of how I do things. Reach in and…oh. There it is.

No matter what area of your Harley needs working on––from the wheels to the clutch to the brakes to the drivetrain––it almost always requires a special tool.

Honestly, I never was a great wrench. I can hold my own with many items, but when I CAN do it, turns to I CAN’T, without some expensive zinc-coated factory wrench or proprietary type tool, I roll the old-girl toward a dealer stat, hoping to leave as few “Harley $$ Units” as possible. Did I tell you that Duct tape and a multi-tool is my best friend?!

Although order drives any repair process, for me it relies not some much on tech charts, but on rhythm and flow. With a wrench in one hand and a couple of sockets in my other, I just reach in…oh. There it is.

Photos taken by the author.

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China’s 30-Years Of Forever War

F-16A Fighting Falcon, F-15C Eagle, and F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft fly over burning oil field sites in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.

It never happened!

In contrast, there are motorcyclists who routinely read this blog that fought in Operation Desert Shield, which became Operation Desert Storm and morphed into a number of other names.

I recall one of the biggest tank battles since World War II, was the Battle of 73 Easting, and broke the back of Saddam Hussein’s armored divisions and sealed Iraq’s defeat. Unfortunately that battle marked not the end of the Gulf War, but the beginning of several “forever-wars” that plague the U.S. to this day.

The scheme of maneuver for Operation Desert Storm

The last time China really attempted to wage a major war was against Vietnam back in February 1979. China was the aggressor, but it’s propaganda machine attached an unconvincing name to the conflict — the “Self-Defensive Counterattack Against Vietnam.” Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops crossed Vietnam’s northern border and invaded the country, to punish them for invading Kampuchea (today’s Cambodia), to remove the Khmer Rouge.

The Chinese invasion had their asses handed to them! Estimates run as high as 28,000 Chinese dead and 43,000 wounded, while the number of Vietnamese dead were estimated at under 10,000. The Vietnamese were tougher, had battle experience, better equipment, knew how to fight asymmetrical warfare against a larger force, and flat out beat the Chinese. After a month (March 1979), China suddenly declared its “lesson” to Vietnam was finished and began to withdraw completely on March 16, 1979.

Report: The Elements of the China Challenge

40-years later, both governments have seriously committed to suppressing memories of that war. Beijing’s unrelenting efforts to control information means that China claims the war as “a victory,” with all missions completed. That viewpoint is not supported by the evidence or any analysis.

Sound familiar? Do you recall China’s indifference to other nations’ well-being as they unleashed the “born in Wuhan,” COVID-19 global pandemic?

You are likely saying to yourself… “Don’t victimize the bats, Mac!”

But, what about the oppression of ethnic and religious minorities (Uyghurs, Tibetans, Mongolians, Christians); fighting Indian soldiers in Eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC); Chinese fighters/bombers buzzing Taiwan’s territorial airspace; or Hong Kong voters’ voices meaningless with a national security law? How about the forced technology transfers, cyberattacks, and a whole-of-nation approach to economic and industrial espionage. Then there is the intensified internal repression with mass surveillance and control over the country by expanding the systematic use of indoctrination, censorship, disinformation, high-tech surveillance, forced disappearances, “re-education” camps, compulsory labor, forced sterilization, involuntary birth control, and other heinous abuses. And, I haven’t even started on the control over the world’s international supply chains.

They don’t really seem to care unless it relates to control of the population and re-configuration of world affairs through economic power to achieve global preeminence.

Meanwhile, U.S. history reveals that the Operation Desert Storm battle marked not the end of the Gulf War but the beginning of several “forever-wars.” The U.S. established Operation Provide Comfort in April 1991 (renamed Operation Northern Watch in 1997). A no-fly zone was established in 1992 in the south of Iraq, known as Operation Southern Watch. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks. There was the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. There was Operation Neptune Spear to kill “Geronimo.” Then President Barack Obama expanded the battlefield to Syria by 2015.

The fighting we have done in the region, nonstop since the first troops were deployed in Kuwait in August 1990, should now be painfully obvious, the net result of all of the efforts is the same: We — not the ever aggressive economic power hungry CCP  — are always fighting wars, which are perpetually costly. Thirty years of unending U.S. war has had profound costs on our country — with questionable strategic benefit.

Low-ball estimates suggest Washington has wasted a staggering $6T (yes, trillion $) on these wars vs. funding badly needed infrastructure at home. More sadly is the military personnel cost of thousands killed, tens of thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.

With any metric you want to apply, these “forever-wars” and nation-building have cost America an astronomical amount.

I understand that the United States must champion the principles of freedom — but the United States Government is accountable to the American people.

After 30-years, we’ve done our part and it is time to acknowledge reality, immediately withdraw troops and end it.

Images courtesy of USAF and Wikipedia commons.

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Oregon Lane Sharing

Senate Bill 574

Do you have that déjà vu feeling?

Remember the 2019 House Bill 2314?

Now we have Oregon Senate Bill 574 which has passed the Joint Committee on Transportation and been sent to the full senate for consideration. The bill would legalize lane sharing under certain conditions.  Lane Filtering, Lane Sharing, and Lane Splitting (i.e. “white lining”) all basically refer to a motorcycle rider positioning its way through slow-moving or stationary traffic.

Lane Splitting Example

According to the bill, the type of conditions in Oregon include:
• On highways with a posted speed limit of 50 MPH or higher
• Traffic on the road must be stopped, or moving at less than 10 MPH

 

 

The rider:
• May travel no more than 10 miles per hour faster than traffic
• Must not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic
• Must safely merge with traffic, if traffic speed exceeds 10 miles per hour
• Must pass traffic traveling in the same direction

Riders cannot lane-share:
• Between a traffic lane and the curb and bicycle lane (on either side)
• Between a traffic lane and a row of parked vehicles (on either side)
• On the right side of the rightmost lane of traffic, or the left side of the leftmost lane of traffic
• In a school or construction zone

You likely either love it or hate it, as lane splitting is a controversial subject that doesn’t seem to promote any middle ground. If you have some passion around this topic, now is the time to contact your senator and request their support for S.B. 574.

Visit laneshareoregon.com/#getinvolved for more details.

UPDATE: June 1, 2021 — The Senate Bill 574 stats:

• Passed full Senate and House floor votes, with 3-to-1 bipartisan majorities
• Had 17 sponsors, with a nearly even split of Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate, from rural, urban, and suburban districts
• Received written support from over 600 Oregon motorcyclists
• Was endorsed by many Oregon businesses and organizations
• Received a “Do Pass” recommendation from the Joint Committee on Transportation

Clearly, Senate Bill 574 was one of the most widely supported bills in the current legislative session and is an acute illustration of elected officials successfully working together to support Oregonians.

Then – Gov Brown Vetoed the Bill on May 26th, citing public safety concerns, including noncompliance and enforcement.

Images courtesy of Oregon Legislature and 4X4 Blazer 1776.

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2020 Is In The Rearview Mirror

Reflection

This has been a year full of twists and turns.

Thank you for your ongoing support during this time.

As we watch 2020 fade and get ready to ring in 2021, please use your common sense and good judgment. Whether you’re riding a motorcycle, driving a motor vehicle or are a pedestrian, be careful and vigilant, especially this holiday weekend.

If you’re drinking, don’t drive. Simple as that!

Stay safe and Happy New Year!

Photo taken by author.

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The Harley-Davidson Winter Of Our Discontent

The COVID-19 Motorcycle Back Rider Barrier

Like most of us, I’m thoroughly sick and tired of the pandemic at this point!

The confusing and contradictory advice along with the arbitrary changes with mandates and shutdowns by government “experts” has created a lack of trust.  Are the decisions really based on evidence and rigorous analysis?

In a crisis like the pandemic, predictability and consistency in government policies are not only ideal, they’re a lifeline.

And, just as there was some semblance of normalcy returning in late August/September, after an impromptu ride to Glacier National Park and a few Starbucks coffee runs with the option of actually sitting INSIDE to enjoy a dark-roast brew…the long-predicted fall surge hits.

This time around it felt different.

Some people I know became sick, and as I write this post some are just now recovering from COVID, which is good news and very fortunate.

In the meantime, consideration of your feet is now a key requirement for Harley-Davidson. Especially for who’s in, who’s out, who’s promoted and who’s been hired at the motor company.

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t see this coming.

Harley-Davidson executives with footwear industry expertise — being the new turnaround vehicle of brand insight into what Harley’s customers truly need — and how to deliver it without previous motorcycle and/or riding experience.

So, what does Clarks, Croc’s and the world’s leading footwear manufacturer, Bata Group, have in common with Harley-Davidson motorcycles?

I’m referring to Serena Di Sarra, who recently joined Harley-Davidson as Director of Marketing, Asia Pacific and Latin America.  It’s likely coincident, surely not cronyism, that Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz, who previously ran PUMA, a company that designs and manufactures athletic and casual footwear, awarded an executive marketing position to Di Sarra.

Given the various 2020 “x-Wire” strategic “walk-backs” at Harley-Davidson it leaves the impression that decision making is (has been?) wishy-washy. Similar to some of the arbitrary government pandemic mandates, constant changes to strategic directions at the motor-company could be symptomatic of a flaw in the process. Some of the walk-back examples are almost as pointless as the head-scratching motorcycle back rider “protective shield” — a motorcycle barrier adopted by the Philippine government that was mandated to fight off the spread of the pandemic.  Don’t get any ideas Gov. Kate Brown!

But, I’ve digressed

Once again I’m writing this post from a virtual lockdown situation, missing my family, friends, colleagues, and the events that didn’t or won’t happen this year.

We can all absorb the gut punch of a one-year interruption in our riding passion if it means coming out stronger on the other side — and I believe that will be the case. When riding events and rallies come back, they’ll return with an “unprecedented” sense of what had been lost and a greater appreciation of our riding relationships.

What gets a motorcyclist through a mask-wearing northwest pandemic winter?  Reading technical manuals, making a bucket ride list, repairing, upgrading and waxing your way out of discontent.

Photo courtesy of RAPPLER.com 

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Disparaging Black Lives Matter Ends Harley-Davidson Dealership

Abernathy’s Harley-Davidson of Union City Tennessee came under intense fire last week for racist posts allegedly made by owner Russell “Tootie” Abernathy II.

Racist posts allegedly made by owner Russell “Tootie” Abernathy II

Abernathy’s family has owned the multi-line (Harley, Honda, Polaris and Brunswick) dealership for 60 years. The dealer was founded in 1955 when Russell Abernathy’s grandfather, the late Clarence Abernathy, began working with Harley-Davidson motorcycles in his garage. In addition, Abernathy’s sold boat brands Lowe and Lund including the engine brand Mercury Marine.

Abernathy stated to the media and on the company website that his social media account was hacked by a disgruntled employee who tried to make him look bad.

Polaris, which is based in Minnesota where the tragic death of George Floyd occured, didn’t pause to determine the nature or extent of the hack and on June 17 stated that Abernathy had agreed to cede ownership of his store. “Should that transfer not occur, Polaris will terminate the relationship with the current ownership.”

Honda Statement

Brunswick Corporation terminated their contract with Abernathy’s last week as well.

Honda is taking a more determined approach and investigating the situation before taking immediate action.

A week after the Polaris announcement, Harley-Davidson decided to also cut ties with Abernathy, stating “The dealer owner in question will no longer be part of our dealer network and we are finalizing details on the dealer owner’s exit.”  Before any determination of an employee hack occurred, Harley-Davidson experienced some derision history with Abernathy which didn’t help his “I was hacked” alibi.

Harley-Davidson Statement

Back in 2015, Abernathy was at odds with the motor company over the Confederate flag. The dealer posted on social media that “As of today, we have been informed Harley-Davidson will no longer let any Dealership sell any T-shirts with the Confederate Battle Flag on the back.”  This was an issue for the Tennessee dealer and they made some social media noise about not liking the decision.

We know that small businesses are reeling by COVID-19 and the shut down of the economy.  Then came the last 6-weeks of protests across the country and businesses need to be proactive with more meaningful action against racism.

Abernathy’s “Hack” Statement

Debate is okay, but there is zero tolerance for disparaging racial posts by any employee.

Harley-Davidson stated on Twitter that if you see someone who works for the motor company spreading hate, please call their Customer Care Team at 1-800-258-2464 (Monday through Friday; 8am-7pm CDT). Or you can write to Harley-Davidson Customer Care at 3700 W. Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208.  Of course, social media is faster!

Next up for “Tootie” is a tell all book: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Running a Motorcycle Dealership!

Photos courtesy of Twitter, Honda, Harley-Davidson and Abernathy’s.

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Harley-Davidson New Reality

COVID-19 Cancels Business

Recall back on March 19, 2020,  Harley-Davidson announced the closure of most U.S. production until March 29th.

The facilities that temporarily ceased production were York Vehicle Operations in Pennsylvania, as well as two Wisconsin operations, including the powertrain operation.  The majority of its global production employees continue to be on temporary layoff.

Today, Harley-Davidson announced additional actions it is taking in response to impacts of COVID-19 on its business:

• Significantly reducing all non-essential spending
• Temporarily reducing salaries
– CEO and the Board of Directors will forgo salary/cash compensation
– 30 percent reduction for executive leadership
– 10 to 20 percent reduction for most other salaried employees in the U.S.
– No merit increases for 2020
• Implementing a hiring freeze

The press release stated that medical benefits remain intact for all global employees.  Outside of the U.S., the motor company will take similar actions as based on regulations governing each of its operating locations. Salary reductions will be reassessed at the end of the second quarter as the company continues to closely monitor business conditions.

Not included in this announcement was information related to dealerships.  To my knowledge few if any have suspended operations.  The mandates and closures of nonessential businesses, left the question of whether dealerships, sales rooms, or repair shops should be included as the various city, county and state rules have been ambiguous.

More background reading at:

H-D Executive Mass Exodus
H-D MIA with Coronavirus Response Ads
H-D Entrepreneur and New Mastermind

Photo courtesy of Instagram

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‘Coronavirus’

I truly hope you all are healthy while staying safe.

To state the obvious: we are all drowning under a steady drip of negative and sometimes outright terrifying news.

With social media and cable television, we can get this drip, drip, drip of dangerous news 24/7. And given the intense competition between the different “news” sources, it has created an environment of doing whatever it takes to increase clicks and views in support of more ad revenue.  Adding to this are the bad actors out there.  They have goals to take advantage of the current structure of social media to excite, energize or anger audiences making it very difficult to stem the tide of disinformation.  In fact, according to some news reports, Russian trolls are already engaged in disinformation campaigns around COVID-19.

There are three factors that seem to encourage the pessimism spiral. The first is a belief that the events that have occurred are permanent. In other words, if things are bad, things will stay bad. The second is a belief that what has happened will have a pervasive and apocalyptic effect on our lives. And the third is the issue of blame, finding someone, not just someone who is accountable, but someone who can be blamed with all the emotion that goes along with that process.

I want to avoid the temptation to play armchair psychologist, but recognizing that inside voice that is making those negative remarks and arguing against yourself, while putting things in true perspective can help to be more optimistic.

There is relief and why, perhaps now more than ever, motorcycle blogs are essential. I hope you agree.

Blog dispatches from across the country about motorcycle wanderings—this can provide a welcome diversion, a brief reprieve from the current restrictions we’re all living under, and a reminder of the thirst for motorcycle adventures we’ll all need to sate when this pandemic has finally passed.

One day soon, this crazy time of social distancing and sheltering at home will be behind us and we’ll be immersed riding with the sun on our backs and the wind in our face!

Photo taken by author — “The Valley Isle” Sunset, Hawaii (March 2020).

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Harley-Davidson’s Entrepreneur and New Mastermind

Jochen Zeitz — Harley-Davidson interim President and CEO

The ultimate maverick has been hired to preserve and renew the freedom to ride.

I’m talking about Jochen Zeitz — the entrepreneur and new mastermind in charge of Harley-Davidson until he is offered the position permanently or a recruitment committee finds a replacement CEO.

So, what do we know and who is this man?

• Speaks seven languages — five spoken fluently including Swahili
• Has his own charitable foundation
• Owns unpublished Hemingway letters and collects robust amounts of African art.
• Owns a luxury tent-camp in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve close to the confluence of the Sand and Keekorok Rivers
• A published author: one book is a dialogue with Benedictine monk Anselm Grün called The Manager and the Monk: A Discourse on Prayer, Profit and Principles
• Co-funded ‘The B Team‘ with Sir Richard Branson
• Awarded the Financial Times Strategist of the Year award — three times
• Honored by the fatherland and awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit
• Sits on the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) board
• Formed the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Inside: Zeitz MOCAA)
• Founded ‘The Long Run,’ an organization that grades sustainable tourism projects
• Purchased a 50,000-acre Kenyan retreat — Segera Retreat Lodge — to develop a new type of tourism leveraging “the 4Cs”
• A pilot and travels across Kenya in his 1929 Gypsy Moth biplane that was used in the Oscar-winning movie, Out of Africa
• Wears t-shirts, no socks, meditates, likes to run and became a guitar virtuoso in 5-years — professional percussive technique

Jochen Zeitz at Segera Retreat Lodge

As a slacker who would debate a good life is better than a good job, paint me truly inspired for that list of accomplishments!

Talk about an extreme producer with a missionary zeal!  And, I haven’t mentioned the best part… a profile of his “day job” achievements.

Mr. Zeitz represents qualities too good to be true and the idea of him shilling for some corporation to hawk motorcycles deflates the “HERO” excitement.  It’s clear, Mr. Zeitz won’t be satisfied until he has done everything to promote his vision of a new, better world.

LiveWire — Jochen Zeitz — Milwaukee, WI

With his multi-millions in fortune, Jochen Zeitz is likely the richest person in history to run Harley-Davidson as interim president and CEO.

So, again, who is the 57-year old sandy-haired, 6’1’’ athletic build of a man?

Mr. Zeitz was born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1963, to a gynecologist father and dentist mother.  He grew up in a time when the Green Party and the anti-nuclear movement were enjoying strong support in Germany.  Along with the time he spent at the family’s lodge in the Odenwald forest, the outdoor exposure planted seeds of interest in environmentalism.  He was educated at Karl-Friedrich Gymnasium, Mannheim, south-west Germany, and then international marketing and finance at the European Business School of Oestrich-Winkel near Wiesbaden.

Jochen Zeitz and wife Kate Garwood

Mr. Zeitz began his professional career with Colgate-Palmolive in Hamburg in 1986. He then moved to Herzogenaurach in the Franconian countryside to work for sporting goods manufacturer Puma (Bio) in 1988. From there, he rose rapidly though the ranks to become head of marketing in 1991 and vice president — international and head of the global marketing and sales department.  In 1993, at the age of 30, he became chairman of the board of Puma, making him the youngest CEO of German firms with commercially traded stock. He dramatically reduced staff numbers, took production to Asia, made English the corporate language, started sponsoring African football teams and was credited with turning around the near-bankrupt business into one of the world’s top three sports brands.

The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) — Cape Town

In 2003, he insightfully signed 16-year-old future Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt to Puma.  In 2007, he was appointed to the Board of Harley-Davidson.

Puma was acquired by luxury goods conglomerate Kering in 2007, and a few years later Mr. Zeitz served as Kering’s Chief Sustainability Officer.  In 2011, he set up a sustainability committee for Harley-Davidson, which he also chaired.

Also in 2011, he wanted to step back and focus on his environmental work and resigned as CEO of Puma.  He became a director of parent company Kering and chairman of the group’s sustainability committee.  He co-founded ‘The B Team’ with Sir Richard Branson in 2013.  That same year he launched the Kenyan Segera Retreat with a focus on his foundation’s 4C philosophy for sustainable tourism.

In 2020, he was hungry for something much more and became Harley-Davidson’s interim president and CEO.

Jochen Zeitz — 1929 Gypsy Moth Airplane Photo credit: Eric M Rojas

On a personal level — he divorced his first wife Birgit Jöris in 2012 following an 18-year marriage.  He is currently married to LA-based producer Kate Garwood‚ 41‚ producer of the 2016 movie “Race”‚ about U.S. track star Jesse Owens.  They have two children; 4-year old Jesse born September 2017 and a three year old. He keeps homes in Switzerland, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, a 50,000-acre ranch in Kenya and has property in west London.

When researching material for this blog post, I was blown-away on the amount of information published about Mr. Zeitz.

In a 2013 interview with the International Bar Association, he stated no plans to marry again, although at the time he was in a long term relationship with Kate Garwood. He was adamant about no intention of having children. ‘No, definitely not,’ he stated emphatically. ‘Never say never, but it’s very unlikely. It’s not something that fits with my daily life and I’ve never believed that having children without a father around is a good idea. It’s not really something I would get excited about.’  Just a short four years later both occur.

Jochen Zeitz at Segera, his 50,000-acre ranch. Photo credit: David Crookes

In recent press interviews, he’s stated the joy of his decision to have children late in life, because now he can see them grow up versus having such a busy schedule in running a company and traveling for 10 months in a year.  An interesting side bar: Speculation swirled that Jesse, their first child, was named after the 1930s athlete and fueled by the fact that Jessie Owens was provided with shoes for the 1936 Olympics by the Dassler brothers‚ who went on to found Adidas and Puma. 

But, I’ve digressed and want to return to connecting the Harley-Davidson dots… Mr. Zeitz’s experience at Kering was a critical influence and the driving force behind Matt Levatich’s (the recently fired Harley-Davidson CEO) pivot to sustainability that led him to think much more about environmental profit and loss at Harley-Davidson.  Mr. Zeitz had devised an environmental profit-and-loss account method at Kering which, put a figure on what a company’s air pollution, land use, water use and carbon consumption cost the planet.

Jochen Zeitz’s Favorite Thing — A Scottish Bailey — Photo credit: Charlotte Haden

While Mr. Zeitz — wealthy, world-view philosophy, competitive, over-achiever and relatively young — has the luxury of carving out grandiose, acronym-fueled sustainable ‘visions’, that struggling businesses like Harley-Davidson, desperate to increase motorcycle sales, might find distracting or even an irritant.

We’ll have to read the biography when ex-CEO Levatich publishes the book, but as an outside observer, one distraction example is: it took eight years, millions of dollars and the work of over a thousand engineers to fully realize a product that few want — the Harley-Davidson LiveWire — the Milwaukee company’s first premium electric motorcycle to go on sale in September 2019.  As a long-serving Harley-Davidson board member, Mr. Zeitz convinced executive management to focus not just on the moral justification for electric engines, but on the needs of Harley-Davidson customers to have healthy natural landscapes in which to ride. The logic behind this claim, was that “what every rider loves about the ride – it’s the environment they’re riding in, isn’t it?”  Soon afterward, the marketing and brand alignment teams marched in unison to support sustainability as a major part of the brand.

Segera Retreat — Laikipia, Kenya

The result?  A new mission, twisting the brand’s historic celebration of freedom into a desire “to preserve and renew the freedom to ride” and TWELVE quarters of sales decline.  Along with a $2,152,500 million severance payment to Matt Levatich.

Mr. Zeitz believes and is on record, stating there is more to corporate life than the relentless pursuit of profit. Wait, what?!  Isn’t profit what got Matt Levatich fired?

I’ve watched “An Inconvenient Truth” and the sequel. The oceans are heating and the poles melting, but color me skeptical of environmental groups with sustainable-for profit-business interests.  We’re all too aware of what the world needs: another multi-millionaire telling others how to behave better once they have made their own fortune while flying private and choppering into a rich man’s playground.

Jochen Zeitz GQ Article — in German

The motor-head scholars, bankers, real estate agents, lawyers and fashion designers who gather not to drink cheap brew, but to sip $15 “born to be wild” martinis and straddle $40,000 motorcycles might pontificate on the value of sustainability, but I just don’t see grizzled leather-clad loyalists describing Harley-Davidson as the world’s most sustainable manufacture over a beer at the Sturgis rally.

But, sometimes there’s a man. I won’t say a hero – ’cause what’s a hero? – but sometimes there’s a man – and I’m talking about Jochen Zeitz here – sometimes there’s a man who, well, he’s the man for the time and place.

A man who will improve the brand that is unique, exciting and one that gives value to it’s riding customers.

But wait, there’s more… An incentive if he kicks a field goal… according to the company 8-K regulatory filing, the interim Harley-Davidson, CEO Jochen Zeitz, is eligible and will receive a $3 million bonus (in the form of restricted stock units (RSU’s)) that would vest one year after the grant date and become payable if his employment continues to the date of the installation of a new CEO.  That $3 million would come on top of the annual base salary of $2.5 million he is receiving now after taking over for Matt Levatich. I don’t think this will be too difficult since Mr. Zeitz has served on Harley-Davidson’s board since 2007.

UPDATED: April 17, 2020 — Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and sales impact, Harley-Davidson announced that its acting president and CEO Jochen Zeitz and the company’s board of directors would forgo any salary or cash compensations. As mentioned above, Zeitz currently has an annual base salary of $2.5 million.

Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson, Jochen Zeitz, Twitter, Eric M Rojas, David Crookes, and Charlotte Haden

Information Source & References: IBA, Independent,Wired,Business Daily Africa, Milwaukee Business Journal, Adventure Rider, Infosys, Telegraph, Financial Times, Angama Blog

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Riding On Painted Lines

Blue Mountain Scenic Byway

The Oregon Department of Transportation is responsible for furnishing and maintaining directional, regulatory, warning, and informational signing on the state highway system.

Can you explain the significance behind every color and symbol used in Oregon’s road signs?  How about the inspiration behind the center line that has divided roads for decades?

ODOT Signs

It was interesting to learn, that the first modern centerline was painted in 1917. White was chosen by its designer, Edward Hines, who was inspired after seeing milk spill from a delivery wagon on a newly-paved road.  In 1935, highway officials gave local governments options when it came to painting centerlines. They could be either yellow, white, or black, depending on the color of the underlying pavement. By 1955, 49 states had adopted white stripes to divide their traffic lanes.  The ONLY holdout, Oregon, who preferred yellow, arguing that it was safer.

The federal government balked at such a ridiculous suggestion and threatened to withhold $300 million in highway funds. Oregon begrudgingly complied, but likely felt vindicated in 1971, when the federal government mandated that centerlines now be painted yellow, with white stripes reserved for roads where traffic drove in the same direction. (Lines on the sides of roads didn’t gain traction with officials until the mid-1950s. Before that, edge markings were prohibited. They were finally advocated in 1961, and then mandated in 1978.)

Route Signs

How about when Oregon Department of Transportation spent $680,000.00 to switch out 400 speed limit signs for House Bill 3402 when it passed in 2015 and increased the speed limit to 70 MPH on selected roadways.  At $1,700.00 for each sign…that is some kind of phenomenon speed sign!

If you’re like me, as you ride by a roadway sign, you likely understand the signage on a subconscious level and that’s why the designs were chosen in the first place.

Colored signs were erected along a stretch of roadway in the mid-1950s. The signs led to two cities: Utopia and Metropolis. Drivers were later polled about which sign color they preferred. Green came out on top at 58 percent, followed by blue (27 percent), and black (15 percent).

Many road sign features have interesting origin stories.

IMPORTANT: Riding on painted lines reduces grip when it rains.

REMINDER:  “White lining” is NOT legal in Oregon.  This is the act of lane-splitting or when a motorcycle travels along the white line between two adjacent lanes of traffic.

Photos courtesy of ODOT.

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